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Seven people have been arrested in the US on charges of trafficking in endangered rhinoceros horns.

A spokesperson for the US attorney's office, Thom Mrozek said today that the most recent arrest occurred Wednesday night when Jin Zhao Feng, a Chinese national, was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport, and that authorities suspect him of overseeing the shipment of dozens of rhino horns from the US to China.

The arrests were the result of an 18-month investigation that was called "Operation Crash" - the term for a herd of rhinoceroses and scrutinized an international smuggling ring that trafficked in sawed-off rhinoceros horns. The horns are used by some cultures for ornamental carvings, good luck charms or believed medicinal purposes, including cancer.

"The rhino is an animal of prehistoric origin that is facing possible extinction because of an illegal trade for its horns on the black market that is driven by greed," said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Justice Depatment's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

All species of rhinoceros are protected under US and international law, and all black rhinoceros species are endangered, federal officials said.

Rhinoceros horn is a highly valued and sought-after commodity despite the fact that international trade has been largely banned since 1976

Rhino horns are composed of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails. Rhinoceros horn is a highly valued and sought-after commodity despite the fact that international trade has been largely banned since 1976.

The arrests were initially reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Three of the alleged traffickers caught in Southern California were Jimmy Kha, 49, his girlfriend Mai Nguyen, 41, and Kha's 26-year-old son Felix. Each faces four counts of rhino horn trafficking in violation of federal laws protecting rare and endangered species.

One of the alleged suppliers, Wade Steffen, was arrested in Hico, Texas, and charged in Los Angeles, federal prosecutors said.

The Khas began receiving packages from Steffen and another alleged supplier in 2010. Seventeen packages were opened under federal search warrants and 37 rhinoceros horns were found, according to a criminal complaint filed in USDistrict Court in Los Angeles.

A search of Steffen's luggage at the Long Beach Airport on Feb. 9 turned up $337,000 in cash. Additional searches by federal agents found rhinoceros horns, cash, bars of gold, diamonds and Rolex watches. Approximately $1 million in cash was seized and another $1 million seized in gold nuggets, federal officials said.

In New Jersey, Amir Even-Ezra was arrested Feb. 18 on a felony trafficking charge after purchasing rhino horns from a New York resident in New Jersey.

Antiques expert David Hausman was charged in US District Court in Manhattan with illegally trafficking rhinoceros horns and with creating false documents to conceal the illegal nature of the transaction, prosecutors said.